A lively and strange excerpt from Bright Earth by Philip Ball, gives us a recipe for Spanish Gold using pure magical thinking. From the writings of Theophilus: "There is also a gold named Spanish gold, which is compounded from red copper, basilisk powder, human blood, and vinegar. The heathen, whose skill in this art is … [Read more...] about Red Haired Men and Other Curiosities on Pigments
pigments
Burnt Sienna Differences
I have three jars of burnt sienna pigment purchased over the past years. They are also shown here in the pure form on the left with linseed added and on the right with lead white added. The Kremer pigment at the top is the lightest and has a distinct hot feel to it. The Sinopia English variety is darker but still very warm. The one at the bottom … [Read more...] about Burnt Sienna Differences
Raw Sienna Review
A reader wrote last week confused about the differences between the shades of raw sienna and burnt sienna. As you can see by the image here, not only are the shades different from pigment to pigment but also from supplier to supplier. The five samples shown here are the ones I use on my palette. On the left is the pigment in its pure form with … [Read more...] about Raw Sienna Review
The Sun, the Moon , and Burnt Sienna
Burnt Sienna is an extraordinarily versatile and useful pigment. In use since antiquity, the siennas sometimes are grouped into the "brown" category, but they are far from plain old brown. With their iron oxide ingredients, they range from rich earthy reds to foreboding darks. In earlier times, sienna was found in Siena, Italy and was … [Read more...] about The Sun, the Moon , and Burnt Sienna
Blue Bandeau
Blue Bandeau 10x9 Oil on Linen SOLD © 2008 Margret E. Short After all these many months of using the historical pigments exclusively, I am consistently amazed at how easy it is to get a harmonious color theme. By using just these few colors on my palette makes the decisions so easy. There is just no … [Read more...] about Blue Bandeau
Sea Snail Masterpiece
Since embarking on this project, I have researched many publications with specific information about pigments and their history. Much is known today about pigments of the past because of scholars such as those in the Rembrandt Research Project (RRP). This committee set about to discover and determine which of Rembrandt's paintings were authentic … [Read more...] about Sea Snail Masterpiece